Around two percent of asymptomatic women in labor test positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Spain. Families and care providers face childbirth with uncertainty. We determined if SARS-CoV-2 infection at delivery among asymptomatic mothers had different obstetric outcomes compared to negative patients. This was a multicenter prospective study based on universal antenatal screening for SARS-CoV-2 infection. A total of 42 hospitals tested women admitted for delivery using polymerase chain reaction, from March to May 2020. We included positive mothers and a sample of negative mothers asymptomatic throughout the antenatal period, with 6-week postpartum follow-up. Association between SARS-CoV-2 and obstetric outcomes was evaluated by multivariate logistic regression analyses. In total, 174 asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 positive pregnancies were compared with 430 asymptomatic negative pregnancies. No differences were observed between both groups in key maternal and neonatal outcomes at delivery and follow-up, with the exception of prelabor rupture of membranes at term (adjusted odds ratio 1.88, 95% confidence interval 1.13–3.11; p = 0.015). Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 positive mothers have higher odds of prelabor rupture of membranes at term, without an increase in perinatal complications, compared to negative mothers. Pregnant women testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 at admission for delivery should be reassured by their healthcare workers in the absence of symptoms.

Participation of pregnant women in clinical trials entails challenges mainly related to concerns about the risks for fetuses. We undertook a qualitative study from June to October 2020 to assess the acceptability of participating in COVID-19 clinical trials among pregnant women in Spain. Phenomenology and grounded theory were used as methodological approaches. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 pregnant women and six healthcare providers. Women were unsure if pregnancy was a risk factor to acquire the infection or to develop severe disease and expressed the limited information they had received, which led to uncertainties and emotional suffering. They had concerns regarding participation in clinical trials on COVID-19, regardless of the drug under study. Healthcare providers alluded to the importance of involving pregnant women’s relatives at the recruitment visit of the clinical trial. These findings may be useful to facilitate pregnant women’s participation in clinical trials.

Inadequate emergency visits, which could be resolved in primary care, are an unnecessary expense for the healthcare service. We did a review of all gynaecology and obstetrics emergency visits by pregnant or postpartum women during 2010 and 2011 in order to describe the adequacy of the visits by pregnant women to the emergency service. We defined three levels of adequacy: adequate, moderately adequate, and inadequate. One thousand seven hundred and forty-three visits to the emergency room of gynaecology and obstetrics were studied. These consultation motivations were adequate in 38.9%, moderately adequate in 46.7% and inadequate in 14.4%. This shows that the amount of inadequate and moderately adequate visits to the emergency department could be reduced by 61% by implementing different interventions, and also reducing health spending for emergencies.

Information and Communication Technologies increase healthcare education. Since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, they have been gaining importance. Our aim was to assess the effects of a web-based questionnaire used in a pelvic floor consultation. We performed a prospective intervention study analysing the use of a web-based questionnaire prior to a first appointment. Fifty-two women used the questionnaire and 52 did not. All patients filled in a paper-based survey relating to satisfaction and pelvic floor knowledge after the appointment. Women in the intervention group showed better knowledge. They had 11% more correct answers for organ prolapse definition [CI 95% (−0.30 to 0.07)], 25% more correct answers for incontinence definition [CI 95% (−0.41 to −0.08)] and 23% better incontinence classification [CI 95% (−0.34 to 0.09]. More patients in the web-questionnaire group started primary therapy in the first consultation (38% versus 16%). Measurements of the total mean time in the consultation room revealed no statistically significant differences [19.36 (SD 4.96) and 21.19 (SD 4.62) minutes, respectively; p = .05] and satisfaction levels were similar. After using our web-based questionnaire, the time for medical histories reduced and patient knowledge increased without changing satisfaction levels.